Some of the stories told by refugees cannot be taken at face value. During my tenure as executive director of Human Rights Watch (1981-93), I interviewed refugees from many conflicts in different parts of the world and found it necessary to follow certain procedures to obtain reliable information.

The procedures I followed and recommended to colleagues included interviewing refugees individually so as to reduce the likelihood that they would tell me agreed-upon stories; focusing on incidents that they had seen themselves; not taking their word about matters they had heard about from others; and interviewing other witnesses to the same events separately to detect inconsistencies.

Where possible, evidence from forensic scientists and satellite photography is also used to verify testimony.

Leading human rights organizations are deeply conscious that the effectiveness of their efforts depends on the credibility of their reporting. They know that governments are often intent on discrediting their reports and that what they publish must stand up to scrutiny.